CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC has formally canceled its freshman comedy "Coupling" as production was shut down on the series Friday and the show's producers were told no additional episodes will be ordered. The series had been on broadcast hiatus since its October 23 airing.

"Coupling" was NBC's most publicized new project of the 2003-04 season but went on to premiere to 15.3 million viewers, well below the disappointing start of last year's Thursday, 9:30/8:30c time slot holder "Good Morning, Miami" (17.5 million, 9/26/02). "Coupling's" final broadcast was seen by just 9.6 million viewers, the Peacock's worst first-run performance in the half-hour in over three seasons.

It's not clear how many episodes of "Coupling" were produced beyond the four that aired or if NBC will burn off the remaining installments. The series was created by Steven Moffat and executive produced by Phoef Sutton, Ben Silverman, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue and Moffat for NBC Studios in association with Reveille and Universal Television.

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